The next time Amelia invited me over, I jumped at the chance. I needed to know more and I figured the one person who would tell me the truth without sugar coating any of it was Byron, even if he did scare me a little. He wasn't nice or sweet or charming, I was pretty sure he would tell me the harsh side of things.
Nathan actually seemed to be happy to see me at his home for a change. When Byron announced he was going out to walk the dogs, I invited myself along to everyone's surprise. I had warned Amelia already that I needed to speak to him so she kept Nathan occupied while I left with him.
We hadn't walked for long before I decided to jump straight into things.
"Look," I said. "Amelia told me everything about your family."
His eyebrows rose quizzically. "Does Nathan know?"
"No, and please don't tell him. I need him to be able to tell me himself."
Byron frowned, intimidating me but I stood my ground. "I mean it, it's between me and him and he has to trust me to tell me. I'd rather wait for that to happen. But in the meantime I have questions."
"Like?"
That was easier than I expected. "Like what does this curse thing really mean for me. Can it go away? Can there be more than one soul mate? This gene I have, does it mean someone in my family was a werewolf? Could Amelia be a werewolf some day? Can it ever be stopped?"
I paused to take a breath. He smiled at me and seemed warmer than before. "I have to be honest with you, Perdita. There's a lot we don't know. I don't think there can be more than one but maybe it is possible. Maybe if a mate died before they met, another would have come along. I really don't know."
"So it still could be possible."
He shrugged. "As for the genetics part, we've never taken part in any kind of testing. I'm not certain what it means but I think that long ago, some were more susceptible to being turned but as humans have evolved that has changed. It's possible that you have some werewolf genes and maybe it would be easier to turn you than it would for others but there isn't any way of knowing that for sure."
"And Amelia?"
"Amelia is an anomaly. You know the story, the first daughter is meant to break the curse. We thought it meant her birth but then Nathan turned into a wolf and we realised we were wrong. He was so disappointed. It's been harder for him. He grew up fully expecting the curse to be broken but it wasn't. He's struggled with it. I think that something might happen when Amelia is 16. It seems to be a significant age."
"Could she . . . turn?"
He considered this. "I'm not sure. The curse says the men are afflicted but who knows?"
"So, am I absolutely, definitely, most certainly, the one the curse means? How do I even know that?"
"There are signs. Nathan didn't tell us at the time but he knew he was on his way to you. Your subconscious has a habit of leading you to the one. You dream of them and when you first see them, you know. After that you can't forget them and nobody else in the world compares." Byron's voice was quiet, almost wistful and I watched the far away look in his eyes and wondered what he was seeing. He turned to me at last. "There is no mistake. I can sense he has matured when he changes. It's a pity he didn't have more time to prepare but it can't be helped. Some meet younger than others."
We walked on in silence for a while. The dogs obeyed his every sign. It was strange to be next to the man. He was normally so reserved and cold yet he was familiar to me too. I felt connected to the whole family in a small way. But I would have preferred to talk about things with Nathan. I knew that he could explain everything in a way I would understand.
